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Imported Silver and Medicinal Drink Identified in Etruscan Tomb
Archaeology Magazine ^ | April 20, 2026 | editors / unattributed

Posted on 04/23/2026 6:49:25 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

New examination of artifacts recovered from a tomb discovered in 1927 near the Etruscan site of Bisenzio suggests that luxury materials from the western Mediterranean were traded in the interior of the Italian peninsula, according to a report in La Brújula Verde. Located in central Italy's necropolis of Olmo Bello, the rectangular stone cist contained cremated remains, weapons, and ceramics dated to between 750 and 725 B.C. Andrea Babbi of Italy's Institute of Heritage Science said that one of these artifacts, a bronze brooch, had been wrapped with a thin, ornamental silver wire shaped by a series of grooved rollers. Study of the high-quality silver with mass spectrometry and lead isotope analysis showed that it had been mined in southern Spain. Babbi and his colleagues also examined a flask made from a gourd that had been preserved in the tomb. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis of residues in the gourd detected organic compounds commonly found in fermented fruit juice, perhaps from grape, apple, or pear. No tartaric acid, a component of wine, was found. Tests conducted on the gourd residue also identified heated pine resin and mastic resin, which were believed to have medicinal properties. Read the original scholarly article about this research in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. To read more about Etruscan luxury goods, go to "Artifact: Etruscan Carved Gemstone."

(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientnavigation; bisenzio; etruscans; godsgravesglyphs; italy; olmobello; pineresin; retsina

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Magnified view of silver wire wrapped around the bronze brooch
© The Bisenzio Project, M. Lamonaca
© The Bisenzio Project, M. Lamonaca

1 posted on 04/23/2026 6:49:25 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

2 posted on 04/23/2026 6:50:29 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv

3 posted on 04/23/2026 7:00:03 PM PDT by UnwashedPeasant (The pandemic we suffer from is not COVID. It is Marxist Democrat Leftism. )
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To: SunkenCiv

Guards stopping Etruscan in his chariot: “Having a little nip from this flask?”

Etruscan: “Uh, that’s just my grandma Tilly’s rheumatism medicine.”


4 posted on 04/23/2026 7:05:31 PM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
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To: frank ballenger
😁

5 posted on 04/23/2026 7:13:03 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv
I once imported silver to make a medicinal drink too.

I even used one of these


6 posted on 04/23/2026 7:14:08 PM PDT by algore ( )
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Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis of residues in the gourd detected organic compounds commonly found in fermented fruit juice, perhaps from grape, apple, or pear. No tartaric acid, a component of wine, was found. Tests conducted on the gourd residue also identified heated pine resin and mastic resin...
Retsina wine! With expensive mastic resin, so, a high status user.

7 posted on 04/23/2026 7:16:56 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: UnwashedPeasant

LOL


8 posted on 04/23/2026 7:22:17 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: SunkenCiv

The guy with the scarlet fever bacterium could have used that medicinal drink in your other poster.

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4376155/posts


9 posted on 04/23/2026 8:09:40 PM PDT by Redcitizen
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To: Redcitizen

And if not, he’s still take a nice nap.


10 posted on 04/23/2026 8:19:41 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: UnwashedPeasant

Doesn’t that say Ovaltine?


11 posted on 04/23/2026 9:00:13 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
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